It used to be used purely as a job search tool. Now, it has evolved into a possible marketing weapon capable of crushing the competition. LinkedIn is now at the heart of strategic product marketing, with more and more businesses bowing… to its power. And especially its penetration into the buying public.
Marketer Zain Kahn, speaking to the FT, says he earns more than $1 million a year in advertising revenue, largely thanks to his hundreds of thousands of "followers" on social media.
However, he does not promote products to his fans on TikTok and Instagram. Kahn is one of a new breed of "influencers" joining the platform, LinkedIn.
Kahn has gained 772.000 fans in about a year. It doesn't make money directly from LinkedIn, but mainly uses it to promote its AI newsletter, which attracts advertisers. "The audience on LinkedIn is more valuable than other platforms," he notes.
The Microsoft-owned business networking platform that was once solely a tool for finding work and networking with 930 million users worldwide is the rising force in social media.
A barrage of questions for advice
Its success has attracted several CEOs, who are now looking to leverage the platform and raise their business profile. LinkedIn Chief Operating Officer Dan Shapero says they receive a lot of questions about how businesses can leverage the platform.
Craig Mullaney, a partner at PR firm Brunswick Group, says LinkedIn has proven to be the most powerful communication channel for some of the CEOs he works with. “In a crisis, this is often the most difficult time for a CEO to get their point across, especially if the media doesn't agree with their point of view. So [LinkedIn] acts as a direct channel to its employees and investors.”
For example, last year when a mass shooting occurred at a Walmart store in Virginia, the chain's CEO chose LinkedIn to offer support to those affected and reassure staff.
Another benefit of having a platform on LinkedIn is the ability to attract staff. According to a 2022 report by Brunswick, when applicants research a business they might join, they look first at the company's website and then at the CEO's LinkedIn page.
Why they choose Linkedin
According to the FT, the reason many choose LinkedIn is the user profile. X, formerly Twitter has a younger and less professional audience. LinkedIn is used by those who have a certain income threshold, so they have purchasing power and are also decision makers.
For baseball player-turned-entrepreneur Sahil Bloom, LinkedIn is his biggest source of promoting his products and services as he makes between $60.000 and $70.000 a month from advertising. He also generates leads for his other businesses, which include a web design company.
"LinkedIn is in the early stages of realizing its power as a social network," says Bloom. Also, for those looking for internet fame without the trolling, LinkedIn offers a safer space than competitors like X, according to users.
Free source
Best-selling self-management and career author Gretchen Rubin has nearly 3 million followers on the platform, but says she's "never been attacked or had such a negative experience." She describes the platform as "a great free resource" for her work, adding: "I feel like people are helping me with my research."
LinkedIn, which grew revenue by 8% this year, encourages creators. It adds new features like audio, live video and newsletters and has a news and creative team, led by former Fortune executive Dan Roth, of more than 200 reporters and editors who help promote and curate a stream of business discussions.
As reported in the FT article, it recently started using artificial intelligence to generate opening conversations and then ask experts to add their own comments and contributions.
"What's really unique about LinkedIn is that they have an editorial function," says Mullaney. "When an executive has news that's important to hear, if they work with LinkedIn and the editorial team, there are all kinds of levers the team can pull to create real exposure." He cites examples such as placing creators in recommendations, push notifications, and the news tab.
Other users, such as clothing designer Jason Mayden, applaud the platform for promoting diversity and black entrepreneurs where others have failed.
"I've found on LinkedIn, because there's a level of intelligence in what I do, the platform allows me to show it and not be pigeonholed," says Mayden, one of LinkedIn's so-called Top Voices, who posts to his 10.000 followers about his creative process and professional path. "[With] other platforms, you're at the mercy of an algorithm that puts you in a certain category."
SOURCE: OT